Newport will consider seeking bids for capping aging seawalls on Balboa Island

Newport Beach may be ready to move into the bidding stage for a seawall extension project on Balboa Island.

The City Council on Tuesday will consider authorizing staff to bid out the construction project, which would add a 9-inch-tall concrete cap to about a mile and a half of the publicly maintained seawalls on the north, south and west sides of the main Balboa Island in an effort to protect the community from flooding during especially high tides.

The estimated price tag on the project is $1.5 million to $2 million, according to a city staff report, though the city has set aside about $5 million for the job. A contract is expected to be awarded this fall.

The extension, which would bring the walls to heights of about 8½ to 9 feet, is a less costly stopgap measure in place of replacing the aging walls. The current walls were built between 1929 and 1939 and are considered to be in fair condition, with some superficial cracking and pitting. With continued maintenance, they should have about 10 to 20 years left in them, according to the staff report.

The new project would make the main island’s walls about as tall as those on Little Balboa Island. The city capped the walls around the smaller island in the late 1980s.

The city has been discussing seawall improvements since 2011. About two years ago, the council indicated a preference for refurbishing the Balboa Island walls rather than replacing them.

Tuesday’s council meeting at City Hall, 100 Civic Center Drive, will start at 5:30 p.m. with a study session. The regular session starts at 7 p.m.

hillary.davis@latimes.com

Twitter: @Daily_PilotHD